"You are such a beautiful young lady, my son is really lucky to have you in his life", Dante's mom said as we walked off to the shore of the beach.
I was completely trapped in my head, praying to not do or say anything wrong. I was worried she'd ask me questions that I wouldn't be able to give answers to considering the extremely short period of time I've known Dante.
"You see dear, I was always scared my son would end up alone as he always wanted, it would have broken my heart to see him do that. He may not tell you this, but Dante had a very odd childhood and that affected him badly"
"Odd? How so?" I asked, interrupting her as she spoke.
"Oh yes, it's something I can never be proud of, but Dante's father used to be a very short tempered man and whenever he was mad about something he would always take it out on me, it was really terrible having my little boy witness all of that and growing up as a teenager, I observed that my son had taking some traits of anger from his father", She paused and took a deep breath.
"I took him to anger management and therapy and all of that, he got better, a lot better but he got scared and he resents the idea of falling in love or getting married because he's afraid to hurt someone just like his father used to hurt me. I keep trying to make him understand that he's nothing like his father", her voice began to crack.
I didn't want her to speak further else she'd break down in tears. I hugged her tightly and assured her that Dante was fine and he would be fine.
"I am here for him always, I'm sure he's nothing like his father, I'm here to support him through it all, you have nothing to worry about", I Said, hugging her even tightly.
I needed the hug just as much as she did, it was comforting. But I was happy she told me this, it made sense.
The night went by filled with merriment and eating and drinking. It was so overwhelming it almost felt so real. My mind flashed back to my encounter with my little sister, Daphne. I couldn't help but wonder why she was in California. I feared my family may have relocated here and if they did, I was certain it wouldn't be long before I met them again and that made me scared. No amount of apology could re correct the mistake I had made.
The next morning, I met Dante at the courthouse and we finalized the marriage. It was really beautiful seeing the joy on Dante's mother's face. I felt bad, cause I knew we were fooling her and the entire world, but I was excited that she at least got to experience this.
"I was excited I'd be meeting your parents today dear, why didn't they show up?", Dante's mother asked as we headed to the car to take our leave.
"Umm, they couldn't make it due to some flight delays at the airport. They live in Mexico and it's an extremely long distance from here" I lied.
"Ohh darling, that must be really tough for them. Missing their daughter's wedding. I can't imagine how annoyed your mother must be" She said tugging at my chin in a soft manner.
"Can I take my wife home now mother?", Dante asked with a goofy smile.
I was sure he only did that to get his mother off from asking further intrusive questions. He must have noticed I was starting to panic.
We got into Dante's car and drove off. On the drive I couldn't resist staring at his arms a lot, no one in their right mind would be able to. The way he moved his right arm around the steering wheel while his left hand rested by the door, it was so charming.
"You know you'd be staying at my place from now on right?" He asked, his gaze completely focused on the road.
"Is that really necessary? I just moved to my new apartment barely two weeks ago" I replied.
"I'm not asking you to cancel your tenancy agreement, you just have to be around the house often cause of my mom, I wouldn't want to have to explain your absence all the time"
"Alright then, can we stop by at my house first so I can pick up a few things?", I requested.
"Sure", Dante immediately took a turn that led to my house and I was surprised. I didn't remember giving him my address but then it clicked that he must have saved it up from the day he sent my dress to be delivered to me.
We got to my apartment in a few minutes and I invited him up to sit in while I packed up. He sat in the living room while I went into my bedroom to pack up my essentials and some clothes.
"All done", I said, tucking my phone into the side zip of my bag.
I was struck, he was standing over a picture of Marcus and I that was placed on a stool.
"Who is he?"Marcus asked, staring at the picture.
"My ex-husband" I replied
I certainly didn't want to get into any details and thankfully he didn't budge nor ask any further questions.
"Oh wow", he said as his jaw dropped, staring at me.
I had changed into a pink patterned sundress,the wedding dress was too snatched, I could barely breathe and I was worried it would affect the baby.
He walked up to me and paused. Stared at me like he was analysing something and I got nervous. He took off a neck chain he had on and walked behind me. He flipped my hair to the side and put the neck chain on me. My whole body was fidgeting but I tried my best to maintain my composure and suddenly I could feel his breath on my neck.
"You look beautiful", he muttered beneath his breath.
"You are such a beautiful young lady, my son is really lucky to have you in his life", Dante's mom said as we walked off to the shore of the beach.
I was completely trapped in my head, praying to not do or say anything wrong. I was worried she'd ask me questions that I wouldn't be able to give answers to considering the extremely short period of time I've known Dante.
"You see dear, I was always scared my son would end up alone as he always wanted, it would have broken my heart to see him do that. He may not tell you this, but Dante had a very odd childhood and that affected him badly"
"Odd? How so?" I asked, interrupting her as she spoke.
"Oh yes, it's something I can never be proud of, but Dante's father used to be a very short tempered man and whenever he was mad about something he would always take it out on me, it was really terrible having my little boy witness all of that and growing up as a teenager, I observed that my son had taking some traits of anger from his father", She paused and took a deep breath.
"I took him to anger management and therapy and all of that, he got better, a lot better but he got scared and he resents the idea of falling in love or getting married because he's afraid to hurt someone just like his father used to hurt me. I keep trying to make him understand that he's nothing like his father", her voice began to crack.
I didn't want her to speak further else she'd break down in tears. I hugged her tightly and assured her that Dante was fine and he would be fine.
"I am here for him always, I'm sure he's nothing like his father, I'm here to support him through it all, you have nothing to worry about", I Said, hugging her even tightly.
I needed the hug just as much as she did, it was comforting. But I was happy she told me this, it made sense.
The night went by filled with merriment and eating and drinking. It was so overwhelming it almost felt so real. My mind flashed back to my encounter with my little sister, Daphne. I couldn't help but wonder why she was in California. I feared my family may have relocated here and if they did, I was certain it wouldn't be long before I met them again and that made me scared. No amount of apology could re correct the mistake I had made.
The next morning, I met Dante at the courthouse and we finalized the marriage. It was really beautiful seeing the joy on Dante's mother's face. I felt bad, cause I knew we were fooling her and the entire world, but I was excited that she at least got to experience this.
"I was excited I'd be meeting your parents today dear, why didn't they show up?", Dante's mother asked as we headed to the car to take our leave.
"Umm, they couldn't make it due to some flight delays at the airport. They live in Mexico and it's an extremely long distance from here" I lied.
"Ohh darling, that must be really tough for them. Missing their daughter's wedding. I can't imagine how annoyed your mother must be" She said tugging at my chin in a soft manner.
"Can I take my wife home now mother?", Dante asked with a goofy smile.
I was sure he only did that to get his mother off from asking further intrusive questions. He must have noticed I was starting to panic.
We got into Dante's car and drove off. On the drive I couldn't resist staring at his arms a lot, no one in their right mind would be able to. The way he moved his right arm around the steering wheel while his left hand rested by the door, it was so charming.
"You know you'd be staying at my place from now on right?" He asked, his gaze completely focused on the road.
"Is that really necessary? I just moved to my new apartment barely two weeks ago" I replied.
"I'm not asking you to cancel your tenancy agreement, you just have to be around the house often cause of my mom, I wouldn't want to have to explain your absence all the time"
"Alright then, can we stop by at my house first so I can pick up a few things?", I requested.
"Sure", Dante immediately took a turn that led to my house and I was surprised. I didn't remember giving him my address but then it clicked that he must have saved it up from the day he sent my dress to be delivered to me.
We got to my apartment in a few minutes and I invited him up to sit in while I packed up. He sat in the living room while I went into my bedroom to pack up my essentials and some clothes.
"All done", I said, tucking my phone into the side zip of my bag.
I was struck, he was standing over a picture of Marcus and I that was placed on a stool.
"Who is he?"Marcus asked, staring at the picture.
"My ex-husband" I replied
I certainly didn't want to get into any details and thankfully he didn't budge nor ask any further questions.
"Oh wow", he said as his jaw dropped, staring at me.
I had changed into a pink patterned sundress,the wedding dress was too snatched, I could barely breathe and I was worried it would affect the baby.
He walked up to me and paused. Stared at me like he was analysing something and I got nervous. He took off a neck chain he had on and walked behind me. He flipped my hair to the side and put the neck chain on me. My whole body was fidgeting but I tried my best to maintain my composure and suddenly I could feel his breath on my neck.
"You look beautiful", he muttered beneath his breath.